Into the Storm
by kos-mos20
Summary: It was meant to be a one night stand, they were never meant to see each other again. But their paths keep crossing and they end up becoming major influences in one another's life.
1. Chapter 1

**Hey guys, so I guess I've been gone a while huh? I found this story on my laptop and decided to repost it. I don't mind continuing it if anyone's interested.**

**Things were hectic last years so I decided to abandon the Heart. I'm sorry that I did, but i don't think I can continue that story. I just didn't know where to go anymore.**

**If anyone wants the story, i'm glad to send it to you by a pm or something.**

**Hope you like this.**

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Rukia Kuchiki slammed the front door of her brother's dining room hard behind her, startling the maid standing outside the door. She stormed through the entrance hall and out the mansion, making her way to her car.

She thought her brother had given up on trying to set her up with some of his business client's sons after the last time. She had ended up throwing a glass of wine the man's face. In a matter of seconds she was out of the giant gates and was driving away from the house, not really knowing where she was going.

After a few minutes of quiet driving, she turned on the radio and started flipping through channels wanting to see if there was anything worthwhile to listen too, she settled on a station which was playing a song she liked.

As she caught site of a bar she liked to visit from time to time, the Redwood Room; she decided she needed a drink to clear her head.

She parked her car by the side in front of the bar totally ignoring the pay before you park sign. Rukia got out of her car, walked to the door and pushed it open, making her way straight to the bar.

"What can I get you?" the bartender asked.

"One glass of merlot please," Rukia said.

She looked around the bar while waiting for her drink, it was a little empty except for a few guys who were watching a game of baseball on the fairly large TV. Rukia wasn't really into sports so she didn't waste any time looking at the game.

She then reached into her bag to get some money and ended up accidentally nudging the man sitting beside her at the bar.

She didn't apologize, she was taken by surprise at the color of his hair, she had never seen anyone with bright orange hair before. She quickly realized she was staring so she looked away just as the bartender came back with her drink.

"Here's to you," she said. "Hope your problems aren't as bad as mine"

He turned to look at her a questioning look on his face. She got a good look at him; he was rather handsome, way better looking than the guy her brother had set her up with. He had peach skin with nice brown eyes, then came the orange hair. There was something familiar about his face though, like she had seen him somewhere before.

"So what's your story?" he asked as he finished his glass of scotch then motioned for the bartender for another one.

"Not really much of a story" she replied. "I have a pretty big meeting tomorrow morning… really important meeting…"

He smirked. "You really think it's good to get drunk tonight…"

"Well it's probably not a good idea…" she took a sip of her drink and looked at him. "I have an amazing hangover recipe that works wonders so I'll be fine come tomorrow"

"Really?"

She nodded. "Yeah, works every time. What's your story?"

"Been having a hard time recently" he said shortly before looking away from her back to his drink.

Rukia frowned slightly, a little dejected that he didn't share his story. She looked away from him back to her drink before taking another swig; as she placed the glass down on the table, she couldn't help but giggle.

The orange haired man looked at her, an eyebrow raised.

Rukia's cheeks heated up as she looked at him, a small grin on her face. "I'm not crazy…" she said quickly. "It's just a little amusing that here we both are, trying to forget our problems with a couple of drinks… like we're kindred spirits"

Rukia thought the orange haired man would look away, ignoring her; but he gave her a half-smile. "Believe me it would take me more than a few drinks to forget my problems"

Rukia guessed that his problems might have something to do with a girl.

"Girl troubles?"

"A part of it" he replied lamely, looking down at the counter.

She wanted to ask him about it, but she decided against it as she didn't know him well enough to ask him such personal questions.

"At least you aren't being invited to dinners which turn out to be ploys to set you up" Rukia rolled her eyes before taking a large swig of her wine.

She felt her a little happier as she saw him grin at what she had just said.

"But it doesn't seem like my problems are that big" she added.

He grinned slightly. "We all think our problems are bigger than someone else's… So we go to a bar, wanting to be alone"

Rukia looked back down at her glass. "Is that your way of telling me to stop talking and leave you alone?" she said quietly, a hint of disappointment in her tone.

He turned to look at her, shaking her head "I'm actually enjoying talking to you Miss-"

She looked at him. "Kuchiki, Rukia Kuchiki"

She raised her dainty small hand from the bar and gave it to him. He shook it. She noticed how small her hand was in his.

"Uryu Ishida"

He released her hand and gave her a smile. "Rukia, that's a lovely name"

She returned his smile. "Thank you. Glad to hear you're enjoying my company"

She felt her phone vibrating in her bag, she didn't bother checking the caller id, she just turned it off, not wanting to be interrupted.

She then signalled to the bartender, wanting to order another drink.

"Add it to my tab" Uryu told the bartender. "I'll also have another"

"Thank you," Rukia said. "But I'm paying for the next round."

"Deal," Uryu agreed as the bartender set new drinks in front of each of them. The TV had been turned off and someone had turned on the stereo, they sat there listening to the R&B music in the air. It gave off a romantic atmosphere.

"Do you come here often?" Rukia asked.

He shook his head and offered her a lazy grin. "No, this is my first time… you?"

She felt her face flush, but she wasn't sure if it was from the wine or his smile; she found it cute. "Once a week with a friend from work…"

"Well, I am glad that I caught you tonight," Uryu said. "Must be fate."

"Fate," Rukia nodded. "She works in mysterious ways, doesn't she?"

"Who said it's a she?" they both laughed. "But yeah she does"

The door to the bar opened, they both turned to see a group of loud talking guys enter and they were making their way to the bar.

Rukia frowned slightly as she didn't want her conversation with Uryu to end yet. She glanced at him, from the look in his eyes she could tell he was thinking the same.

He nodded to a table at the back of the bar; they both stood up and made their way over to the table. As they walked to the table, she could feel his eyes on her backside; she couldn't help but smile.

After they both settled into the booth, she decided to get a better look at him. She had already concluded that he was handsome; he had warm brown eyes, strong jaw and the orange hair, while weird, fit him.

He noticed her eyes on him. "The hair?"

She blushed a little, because she had been caught staring.

"Got it from my mum, was picked on a lot in school because of it"

"I can imagine" Rukia replied with a smile.

They sat for a few moments in silence. "So..." she wasn't sure what to say next.

"I'm a lot more interesting on other days" he told her.

"Too bad that it's not one of those other days"

"I guess" she took another sip. She really didn't know what to say next, luckily for her he broke the silence.

"If I may ask how did your setup go?"

She cringed as she remembered how irritated she had felt when Taka Matsuri had placed his hand on her thighs trying to silently seduce her in front of his father and her brother. She had silently jammed a fork in his hand.

"Terrible is the only word I can use to describe it" he laughed slightly at her expression.

"Wasn't as good looking as me?" he asked, a silly look on his face.

She scoffed jokingly at this. "Who said you were good looking?"

Uryu smirked. "Well you've been staring at me ever since you walked in here"

"I was staring at your hair, I would have also picked on you in school if I knew you" she replied slyly.

He smiled. "Right… just admit, you're attracted to me"

There was no way she was going to admit it, but she was. He looked really good in his black dress shirt, the sleeves rolled up to his elbows. She could see some strong muscles on his arms.

"Not really" she replied turning to look away from him trying to hid the blush of red on her cheeks.

He shrugged his shoulders. "That's too bad… I am attracted to you"

Rukia's looked at him. "Really?"

"Yeah, I really like your eyes. They look like they could see into the soul"

She blushed harder than before and looked down at the table. Never had anyone ever said anything like that to her, be it a stranger that she met in a bar. She didn't say anything because she didn't know what to say. But she was sure he was flirting with her though. It had been a while since she had been flirted with in a bar. Sure she had met a couple of guys over the years in her line of work; but her last boyfriend had been one she met in college.

"I'll be right back" he said suddenly, getting to his feet.

"Um... it's my treat-" Rukia's words were cut off as he left the booth. "Great..." she muttered.

He was probably disappointed; he wanted to get far away from her. Even though she might have just met him, she felt comfortable around him; plus she was attracted to him.

Rukia finished her drink before shoving the glass away and grabbing her bag. She stood up and slowly made her way to the bar with the intent of flirting back with him, but he wasn't there.

She felt disappointment flood her, he must have left. She settled her tab then turned around and slowly made her way over to the door. She felt a tap on her shoulder and turned around to see Uryu smiling, wearing an expensive looking leather jacket.

"You ready to go?" he asked.

She nodded instantly and followed him as they made their way to the exit.

Once they were outside, Rukia turned to look at him. "There's my car" pointing to the black convertible just a few feet away from them. She really didn't know what to say.

Uryu looked at the car for a second admiration in his eyes, before turning back to look at her. He put his hands in his jacket. "I guess this is goodnight then"

Her heart beat faster, taking a step towards him. "I don't want it to be." She said before she could stop herself.

"Me too…" he mumbled taking a step towards her.

The next moment, he leaned in and brushed his lips against hers briefly. As he was about to pull away she grabbed the back of his head pulling him closer, deepening the kiss.

Uryu put his arms around her and pulled her closer. A purring noise came from deep within her throat as their bodies pressed against each other.

"If you want," Uryu said, his mouth brushing her ear. "I have a place a few blocks away from here"

"I definitely want," Rukia murmured.

Uryu kissed her again. "Me too"

With kisses like that, Rukia would have followed him anywhere. She was sure the alcohol had lowered her inhibitions. But she didn't care, she wanted to do this.

They walked for what felt like 15 minutes, before they reached Uryu's rather large apartment. She was surprised that there was a place this big in the city.

"What do you think?" he asked.

"It's amazing" Rukia said sincerely.

He hadn't even locked the door before she threw herself at him, kissing him. He was surprised by her forwardness.

They walked backwards, lips still locked together into his room.

"Here we are?" he said softly as they entered the room. It was definitely bigger than hers, he had a white four poster bed, in fact all the furniture was white. The room was surprisingly clean, no clothes were on the floor, except for shoes which were scattered near the window.

She looked up at him, she wanted to be spontaneous and reckless for the first time in her life. She started unbuttoning his shirt.

He helped her pull off his shirt then started working on taking off her clothes.

In a matter of seconds she was in her black bra and knickers standing over him. She blushed a little when she saw him eyeing her appreciatively, she knew she had a nice body.

He slowly ran a hand over her thighs to her flat stomach to her cheeks, gently brushing away the stray bang of hair between her eyes. Rukia looked up at him with trusting eyes. She had only had sex once before and she wasn't very experienced.

He walked over to the bedside table and pulled out a condom just as she asked him if he had any protection.

"Sure" he replied before she started pulling his trousers; again surprised at her confidence.

Rukia smiled up at him before kissing under his chin briefly before capturing his lips in a deep kiss; his hand went round her back to unsnap her bra.

He pulled it off and got a view of her body. Her naked body was extremely incredible. Porcelain pale skin which seemed to glow gracefully in the light.

Rukia couldn't help but blush harder; he was looking at her like she was the most beautiful woman in the world.

"Beautiful" he whispered before pulling her down on the bed, kissing her. Hovering over her, he leaned down and began kissing the valley between her breasts for a few seconds before capturing her pink rosy nipple in his mouth.

She closed her eyes as the feeling shot through her, she felt like she was on fire.

He then proceeded to run his hands over her body while pressing soft kisses on her neck. She giggled slightly. He kept pressing soft kisses over her body till he was at her navel.

Rukia whimpered as he licked her navel. She instantly parted her legs open for him, she needed him inside her now!

He moved up her body, capturing her lips in a kiss before thrusting into her.

She loved this feeling, it had been sometime since she had felt it but she remembered it. She wrapped her legs around his waist and closed her eyes, completely forgetting everything that was on her mind, her job, the lousy night before she walked into the bar

She lost her thought as he thrust into her again, harder and faster. Rukia cried out losing her head in pleasure.

Rukia awoke the next morning. She looked around the dark room not really sure of where she was or why she didn't have any clothes on. As she remembered last night, a small smile appeared on her lips.

Yawning slightly, she sat up looking for Uryu.

The next moment, he walked into the room carrying a tray which contained a glass and jug of orange juice along with a small plate of pastries.

"Good morning" he said, smiling at her.

Rukia smiled back at him as she got up to her knees, receiving the tray from him. As she smiled up at him, she couldn't help think what a gentleman he was.

"Thanks" she muttered to him before picking up a pastry and taking a small bite.

As she ate the pastry, he got a good look at her; she was stunningly beautiful. Her creamy porcelain skin seemed to go on forever. She had pert lips and her eyes which he had noticed yesterday were shining blissfully. Her hair-

His phone began ringing.

He turned to it, groaning as he saw the caller ID; it was his agent. "Crap!" He picked up the phone, muttering "I'll be right back" before exiting the room.

Rukia didn't really try hard not to eavesdrop as she could hear everything he was saying.

"_I'm not late!"_

"_Stop yelling!"_

"_You're at my door!"_

Rukia's eyes opened wide alarmingly as she hears footsteps and the main door opening.

"You're going to be late!" a female voice said sternly. "You're not even dressed? What's the matter with you?!"

At that moment, Rukia dropped her glass of orange juice back on the tray before placing it on the bedside table. She immediately began to dress up.

"What were you doing last night?!" she heard the voice ask as she pulled up her panties which were at the end of the bed.

"Nothing!" she heard Uryu say.

"Liar!" the voice said, as she began buttoning up her shirt. She looked to the bedside table, it was 8:32am.

"Crap!" She was going to be late for her presentation. She grabbed her shoes from the floor and sat back down on the bed as she began putting them on.

"_Is there someone there?"_

"_And if there is?"_

"_I told you to go straight home!"_

"_You need to stop bossing me around!"_

"_You have a big-"_

"_Chill Tatsuki! Wait here!"_

Rukia was looking at herself in his mirror, checking her reflection as she heard footsteps approaching the bedroom.

She picked up her bag and turned to the door just as it opened, and a red faced Uryu walked through. He didn't seem surprised that she was already fully dressed.

"I gotta get ready for something" he said.

"I gotta go" Rukia said at the same time.

They both smiled at each other before she began walking towards him, her eyes still on him; she stopped in front of him. As they stared at each other, she wanted to ask him if she would see him again but she didn't want to seem like one of those girls.

"Thank you for last night" she said. "I had fun-"

There was movement outside and he frowned. "I'm sorry..." he said before turning away from her and making his way into the bathroom.

Rukia couldn't help but feel a little disappointed but she didn't have time to think about it. She walked out of the room. She expected to see the woman who had come this morning but she wasn't in the living room she exited the apartment.

"I think that went well" Orihime Inoue said to her friend smiling widely.

Rukia couldn't help but nod in agreement; her meeting had gone very well. She had ended up securing the exclusive rights to one of her favourite artists work.

Rukia was a consultant for an art gallery in downtown Tokyo. Her job was to discover art from various artists to display in the gallery whenever they had an art show. They also sold paintings to various art connoisseurs.

Rukia hadn't gone home to change after her night. Luckily, she always kept a spare set of work clothes in her office so all she had do when she got into work was just wash her face briefly and put on make-up before changing into her clothes.

Her mind had been on her hook-up throughout the meeting, she didn't know why. She knew it was going to be a one-night stand but she had found Uryu to be a very nice and charming guy. Sure he had rushed her out the door when that lady had come but minutes earlier, he had brought her something to eat this morning; she thought that was very sweet. But she had to get him out of her mind as she wouldn't be seeing him again.

After the meeting, Rukia had followed Orihime to her office to relax as there wasn't really much for either of them to do anymore today. She then told her about the dinner with her brother and how it was a setup; telling her that the guy she had been setup with was extremely irritating.

But Rukia didn't tell her about what had happened after she had stormed out; how she had gone to a bar, met a guy then slept with him. Orihime really didn't need to know about it so she had just told her that she had gone back to her apartment and had a few drinks.

She wasn't too sure if Orihime had believed her but her friend had just changed the subject.

"So Rukia, do you have something to wear tonight?" Orihime asked her.

Rukia's eyes immediately widened, she had completely forgotten about tonight. Orihime had invited her to a party tonight. It was a release party for a novel by some author, she had forgotten his name. Orihime was a big fan and the author was also a childhood friend of hers.

Rukia wouldn't say she was excited to go, but Orihime had just broken up with her boyfriend and Rukia had been doing things with her to help her get her mind off him. The party could be fun; she could meet a couple of interesting people there.

Orihime already had a dress to wear as she and Rukia had gone shopping almost a week ago, but Rukia had told her she'll get it another day but it had skipped her mind. She had been preparing for the meeting for almost 2 weeks and not to mention, she had started a brand new painting.

Looking nervously at her friend, she slowly shook her head. "Sorry Hime"

Orihime shut her eyes for a moment before giving her a lopsided grin. "I'm not surprised"

"Don't worry I'll go look for one now" Rukia said, as she got up from the couch. "I don't have anything else to do today"

"Do you want me to come with you?" Orihime asked.

Rukia shook her head. "One of us needs to stay here in case we get some new work from _Shirayuki_… the agent said we-"

"It's him!" Orihime squealed excitedly, cutting her off as she increased the volume of the TV.

Rukia stopped and turned to the TV… and her jaw slowly dropped, her cheeks burning red when she saw who was on.

"Today marks the release of the sequel to his multimillion selling book "Memories in the Rain" by author _Ichigo Kurosaki_"

That was why he was so familiar… he was the author of her favourite book.


	2. Chapter 2

The moment she finished putting on her lipstick, she heard the doorbell to her apartment ring; it was Orihime coming to pick her up for the party.

Rukia was already fully dressed and smelt really good so she picked up her matching purse from the dresser and walked out of the bedroom into the living room turning off the lights in the to the whole apartment before exiting it. She walked straight down the well-lit corridor into the opened elevator and pressed the ground floor button; she lived on the 9th floor.

The elevator had mirrored interior so she was able to check her reflection one more time; she looked perfect as always. Her hair was neatly styled, her lips wet from the lipstick and her violet eyes shining dreamily.

She was dressed in a light green one shoulder silhouette ruffle mini-dress which hugged her delicate curves nicely. She wore transparent rose tights and some expensive Jimmy Choo's Gleny's python sandals which she had never worn before. Tonight seemed like the perfect time to wear them. Rukia wasn't really fashion crazy but her 2 closest friends were so whenever she went shopping with them she just had buy as they did. Her closet was filled with clothes she had never work before.

Seconds later the elevator dinged when it reached the ground floor and the doors opened to reveal a beautiful Orihime smiling at her, dressed in a black tight bandage dress with a u-neck that showed off her wonderful cleavage. She looked really beautiful. Rukia beamed as she walked over to her. "You look great Hime"

Even though Rukia would never admit it, she was always envious of her friend. Orihime was a very beautiful girl with long bright orange hair, face and a very cheerful smile; she smiled all the time. Not to mention that her friend was blessed with a big chest and was taller than Rukia. She was a cheerful girl who found it easy to talk to people; she always smiled and was always in a good mood. Orihime was just a very lovely person to be around.

"That's an amazing dress" Orhime said as she grabbed Rukia's hand and led her out of the reception, both of them waving to the concierge and out of the building where a black limousine was parked.

"A limo?" Rukia inquired, looking at the elegant vehicle in surprise.

Orihime nodded. "Yeah… he sent it"

This wasn't Rukia's first time in a limousine; in fact she had been in a limousine countless number of times. As she got into the car, she couldn't help but think that it was nice of him to send a limo to pick up his friend.

The event was taking place in the Conrad Hotel, a very elegant and beautiful hotel with 37 floors; one of the largest hotels in Japan. It stood tall in the middle of the downtown district which accommodated high end stores, hotels, theatres. The hotel had 3 banquet halls, 3 state of the art meeting rooms and 2 large ballrooms. The hotel hosted luxurious dinners, various celebrity events and Rukia had even attended a couple of art shoes at the hotel.

Rukia had attended big parties and public events as per her obligation because of her brother and an event like this definitely wasn't a new thing to her. But this was the first time she had been an event that had a lot of celebrities in attendance. They were movie stars, musicians and various famous authors… she was a little star struck.

Stepping into the hall, it was elegantly decorated with bright lights, golden fittings and expensive furniture. There was a large banner at the front of the hall with Ichigo's smiling face holding a copy of the book.

Orihime seemed to know where she was going as she was looking for a friend of hers who she had been speaking too moments earlier on the phone; so Rukia just followed closely behind her as she made her way towards the northern part of the hall. Orihime had a wide smile plastered on her face; she waved in greeting to various guests as she passed by them.

One thing Rukia noticed was how many women who could only be models were in attendance; most of them were dressed in tight mini-dresses, showing off their long legs. Rukia was tiny in comparison so most of them even towered over her. Any normal girl would had felt uncomfortable being in their midst but Rukia wasn't. She knew she was beautiful and had a hot body. Sure she was petite but that didn't mean that she didn't get checked out whenever she went clubbing with Orihime.

"Tatsuki!" Orihime screeched excitedly moments later as she rushed over to a good looking woman with dark shoulder length spiky hair and throwing her arms around the her in a giant hug.

Rukia smiled as she stopped a few feet away from them; she recognized the girl as Tatsuki, one of Orihime's friends from her hometown. Rukia had seen pictures of the two of them together at Orihime's apartment.

"Orihime… too… tight…" The woman breathed out weakly.

Orihime reluctantly let her go but circled her arm through Tatsuki's, holding tight. "I missed you so much"

"We talk everyday Orihime"

"But I don't get to see you" Orihime mumbled sadly, resting her head on her friends shoulder.

Tatsuki playfully pinched Orihime's cheek. "Blame our idiot Ichigo for that" They both giggled before Orihime walked with her to where Rukia was standing. "Tatuski Arisawa, I'd like you to meet Rukia Kuchiki"

Rukia smiled politely at her, sticking her hand out to her; Tatsuki didn't immediately accept her hand. She narrowed her eyes slightly at her, as if she was examining her.

After what felt like hours, Tatsuki finally shook her hand. "So this is the _famous _Rukia Kuchiki"

"Famous?"

Tatsuki nodded as they let go of each other's hand. "Orihime's told me a lot about you"

"Likewise" Rukia told her.

Orihime had also told her a lot about Tatsuki; they had been friends for as long as long as they could remember. Tatsuki had been like her personal body guard when they were in high school because she had been taking Karate lessons she was young and had protected Orihime from bullies all through their high school years. Regardless of how nice Orihime was, there were still some girls who made fun of her because her boobs were bigger than all of theirs. Years later, it was Orihime who had the last laugh as guys paid more attention to her than them.

She smiled at Rukia before turning to Orihime. "Have you seen Uryu yet?"

Orihime's face lit up in excitement. "Uryu's here? He told me he wouldn't be able to make it"

Tatsuki smiled at Orihime before she began dragging her towards the front of the hall; Rukia followed suit. She wanted to meet the real Uryu Ishida.

As they approached the front of the hall, Tatsuki waved at a lanky, tall dark haired man with glasses who was speaking to a couple of women.

Spotting Orihime and Tatsuki approaching he excused himself from the ladies and began walking towards them. Orihime hugged him tighter than she had hugged Tatsuki.

"It's great to see you too Inoue" Uryu mumbled, an _overwhelming_ smile on his face as he spun Orihime around.

Rukia had also heard a lot about Uryu from Orihime. Along with Tatsuki, they had all grown up in Karakura town and attended the same schools. They had both gone to Osaka University where they had dated for over 2 years. After the broke up, he had stayed in Osaka to attend medical school while she had moved to Tokyo. Years later he had become a surgeon. They talked a lot to each other; Orihime was the kind of girl who remained friends with her exes.

"I thought you weren't going to be able to make it?" Orihime asked after they separated from each other.

"Well-"

"I'll see you guys later" Tatsuki announced, looking at her watch. "It's almost time for Ichigo's introduction" she pecked Orihime on the cheek before walking off towards the podium.

Orihime grabbed Uryu's arm and pulled him towards Rukia. "This is Rukia Kuchiki"

He smiled at her before holding out his free arm. "It's great to finally meet you Rukia, I'm Uryu Ishida"

Rukia shook his hand. "Orihime has told me a lot about you"

This was the real Uryu Ishida; he was a very handsome man. He had chin-length sleek black hair which framed both sides of his face but mostly on the right side; he had dark blue eyes. Staring at him, she couldn't help but think that if she had met him last night and had the exact same conversation she had with Ichigo; the same thing probably would have happened.

"Nothing too bad I hope" Uryu joked.

"You ready Ichigo?"

Ichigo looked up from the ground where he had been staring at for the past 30 minutes at Tatsuki as she stopped in front of him. "Not really" he answered lamely.

"Well you don't have a choice!" she said sharply as she began straightening out his tie. He swatted her hand away. "I do have a choice… I can just _sneak_ out"

She glared at him sternly. "I'll stop you"

Ichigo raised an eyebrow at her. "You can't stop me"

A sly grin appeared on her face. "Want to test that theory?" she asked in a threatening tone before they began a staring contest; something they used to do back when they were kids; but he always lost and today was no different.

He sighed in defeat before looking down at the ground miserably. He hated this part of his life. He hated press conferences; he hated public spectacles like this. But he knew he had to do it.

Tatsuki smiled at him fondly lightly pinching his cheek before working on his tie again. "Come on Ichigo… it'll be over in a short while" When his demeanour didn't change, she added. "Yuzu and Karin are here"

His head snapped up, glaring at her with excitement. "Really?"

She nodded before grabbing his hand and pulling him towards the exit of the room as he smiled.

"I thought they wouldn't be able to make it"

"Well I made it happen… Uryu and Orihime are also here" she added smugly.

Ichigo smile widened in excitement; it had been a long time since he had seen his sisters. They were both studying in Kyoto University. It was a 6 hour drive from Tokyo to Kyoto. He always preferred flying but he didn't even like getting on planes. He normally visited them every other week but he hadn't seen them in over 2 months because whenever his book was about to be released he was to be making appearances promoting the book so he didn't have much time to himself at all. But that didn't mean he didn't speak to them almost every day though.

His sisters were the most precious thing to him in the world.

He wrapped his arms around her tightly and gave her a big kiss on the cheek. "You're the best Tatsuki"

She beamed at him before asking, "Are you ready?"

Ichigo nodded in response before she walked through the curtains and onto the podium; he was feeling a lot happier and confident than he was 10 minutes ago.

He had known Tatsuki for as long as he could remember, they lived next to each other in Karakura town and they had been best friends all their life. They both took karate lessons when they were kids and whenever they were pitted against each other, he always lost. He had never told anyone though and luckily or him, Tatsuki had also never told anyone too.

They had gone to the same school up until university where he had studied in Tokyo University while she had gone to Osaka University with Orihime and Uryu. She had was the one who had stolen a rough draft of a story he had written and shown it to her editor as she was still an intern at a magazine shop. Apparently her editor was brothers to a big publisher and he had loved Ichigo's story so much, he had personally called Ichigo to ask him to finish the book. Ichigo of course didn't know what he was talking about until Tatsuki called him and told him she had gotten a full time job and a raise because of his story. He couldn't be mad at her so he had finished the story and it had been published. It took 3 days to reach the top of the table and it stayed in the top 10 for the whole year including 23 weeks in the top 5 best seller. He owed her everything after all.

"-So tonight we honour the youngest author to top the best seller for 10 weeks straight and celebrate the launch of his new book "Memories in the Rain" the stunning conclusion to his Bonds series… Ladies and Gentlemen…. _Ichigo Kurosaki_"

"Here we go then…" he whispered to himself, before plastering a grin on his face as he stepped through the curtains; the spotlight shining immediately shining on him and a large round of applause.

After he had finished all the pleasantries, picture taking, autograph signing, basically doing what he was supposed to do; he immediately rushed to greet his sisters. He enveloped them in a big hug making sure they knew how much he missed them. Maybe it was just him but they had both grown taller since he had last seen them.

After he let go of them just as Inoue Orihime one of his friends came over to embrace him; her big chest pressing hard on his chest. Like Tatsuki, he had also grown up with her in Karakura town and they had all attended the same school.

Orihime was special to him in the sense that she was his first girlfriend; they had dated for only a month in high school. She looked very beautiful tonight but she had always been a beautiful girl. He liked her… she was a very nice person.

After he and Orihime had finished catching up with Orihime, she had pointed him over to Uryu Ishida, another one of his childhood friends. Ichigo immediately made his way over to his friend to greet him. He hadn't seen Uryu in over 5 months and they had only spoken a handful of times. Even though Ichigo had been busy working on his book, Uryu on the other was a surgeon and was a lot busier than Ichigo was… he ran a hospital with his father, Ryuuken Ishida.

"Thought you couldn't make it?" Ichigo asked as he stuffed his hands into his pocket.

"Well Tatsuki threatened me" Uryu told him causing Ichigo to snigger. "Karakura is just an hour away… you should visit more often…_ how busy could you really be_?" Ichigo added jokingly.

Uryu narrowed his eyes at him. "_I'm a surgeon Kurosaki… I am always very busy_" he said sternly, but Ichigo mimicked him word for word as Uryu always said this whenever Ichigo questioned how busy he was. A sneer was playing on Uryu's lips before he smiled and said. "It's great to see you man"

Uryu felt a shuffling behind him. "Where are my manners…" he muttered moving out of the way to reveal Rukia's tiny frame. "Ichigo… this is Kuchiki Rukia"

Ichigo's eyes widened in alarm at the sight of the girl he had slept with last night, the girl he couldn't get out of his head. Last night hadn't been the first time he had picked up a girl in the bar and slept with but she was definitely he had.

She was looking beautiful, the dress hung tightly onto her petite curves, her creamy skin glowing in the light. As he stared at her dazzlingly beautiful appearance, he hadn't expected to see her at all

"-She works with Orihime" he heard Uryu say.

_Stupid Ichigo!_ He just remembered Orihime had told him numerous times about a girl she worked with whose name was Rukia. Never in a million years would he have guessed that this was the Rukia. And she had met Uryu… _the real Uryu._

Quickly regaining his composure so Uryu wouldn't notice anything, he gave her a charming smile and held out his hand. "Pleasure to meet you Rukia Kuchiki"

Ichigo saw the reluctance in her violet eyes before she placed her dainty hand in his, shaking his hand; she gripped it tighter than he expected. "The pleasure is all mine Mr Kurosaki" she responded with a smile. "I'm a fan of your work"

He raised an eyebrow, curious. "Is that so?"

She nodded. "Yes… I absolutely loved Memories"

"Well… I'm glad" he muttered. "Where do you know Uryu from?" he asked quickly, shooting Uryu a nervous glance.

Her eyes flashed menacingly which slightly frightened him. Uryu would kill him if he knew he used his name again to pick up a girl. Last night wasn't the first time he had done it.

There had been a particular incident over a year ago when a girl he had met in a bar had tracked Uryu down in Karakura town and had confronted him while he was attending to an elderly patient. Uryu had been absolutely livid with him after that incident.

"Orihime introduced us… I work with her at the art gallery"

"Are you an artist then?" he asked.

Her cheeks slightly heated up as she answered. "No, I just sell art… a pretty boring job… not as glamorous as being a _best-selling author_" She had said that last part in a sugary sweet voice that made him grin.

"Trust me there's nothing glamorous about being _me_"

As he stared at her, he remembered her legs being wrapped around his waist as he ravaged her neck with his lips. Running his hands over her body… entering her…

Feeling his cheeks heat up, he turned sharply to Uryu. "There's someone I'd like you to meet" he said before putting his arm around his friends shoulder.

Uryu raised an eyebrow. "I hope you're not trying to set me up with one of your… _friends_" he stated suspiciously placing an emphasis on _friend_.

Ichigo laughed in a weird high pitch laugh that wasn't his normal laugh. He just had to get Uryu away from Rukia. "Of course not…"

"It was nice to meet you Miss Kuchiki"

"Excuse me, do you mind if I sit down?" Rukia asked the dark haired girl who seemed to be studying as she had a large book open in front of her. The girl nodded briefly without looking up from her book; Rukia sat down in the chair across from her.

Rukia inspected the girl, she was pretty. She had shoulder length dark hair which was tied into a neat ponytail; choppy strands were falling into her heart shaped face.

"I'm Rukia" she said introducing herself.

The girl looked up from her book at Rukia, slightly surprised before she answered. "Karin"

Rukia smiled politely but the girl didn't smile back, she just looked back to her book and kept reading. Rukia kept staring at her though, wondering why she was studying at a party with moderately loud music.

Feeling Rukia gaze on her, she looked up at her before asking. "Why am I studying at a party?"

"It crossed my mind" Rukia said sheepishly.

Karin straightened up in her seat before closing the book. "I have a test tomorrow afternoon… I study Philosophy at Kyoto University"

Rukia had already guessed that the girl was probably some sort of student. "Oh… but that still doesn't answer the question"

Karin tilted her head sideways, grinning. "Technically you didn't ask a question"

Rukia's grin widened, she seemed like a nice girl. "Ok… why aren't you studying in a library?"

"Well I had to come support my brother"

Rukia raised an eyebrow in confusion before it clicked in her head. "Ichigo is your brother?"

Karin nodded. "Yeah… do you know my brother?"

Rukia's cheeks flushed red as a voice in her head said. "_I definitely know your brother and I've seen him naked_". She quickly shook her head before looking away from Karin so she wouldn't notice her reddened cheeks. "No… Orihime invited me"

"So you know Inoue?"

"We work together in the art gallery at downtown Tokyo" Rukia answered looking back at Karin.

Karin smiled. "That's nice"

As it turned out, Karin had some knowledge about art so they engaged in a conversation about various artists including Rukia's favourite artist, _Katsushi Hisoki._ Rukia had moved her chair to sit next to Karin as they discussed about some of his work; Rukia was surprised that she even knew about his work.

Even Orihime who Rukia worked with didn't know much about _him_. Rukia even gave the girl some tips on how to cram for tests at the last minute including a technique she had used various times in University. Rukia liked the girl; she was a lovely and intelligent person. Rukia couldn't really see the resemblance with Ichigo though except for the fact that they were both good looking.

"Karin" a voice said from behind them.

They both turned to see a sandy haired girl approaching their table. Karin immediately got up with a wide smile on her face. The sandy haired girl whispered something into Karin's ear before she noticed Rukia. "Oh hello"

Rukia smiled politely at the girl as Karin introduced her. "Yuzu this is Rukia Kuchiki"

"I'm Yuzu Kurosaki… Ichigo's sister" the girl smiled, as Rukia got up to shake the girls outstretched hand. It was then that Rukia noticed the resemblance between them.

"Yeah we're Twins" Karin told her, reading Rukia's mind.

This was Rukia's first time meeting identical twins. Yuzu had shoulder length sandy brown hair which fell into her pretty face gracefully. They both had warm brown eyes.

"Come on Karin… Tatsuki wants to introduce us to _Ayumi_" Yuzu said to her sister before grabbing her hand.

"It was nice meeting you Rukia" they both said in unison, smiling identically at her before turning and walking off towards the direction Yuzu had come from.

Rukia watched them as they disappeared inside the crowd that had formed at the front of the hall; she was able to catch a brief glimpse of Ayumi Hasaki's pink hair. The super famous pop star had been rumoured to be dating Ichigo last year because they had been seen together at various events. Rukia didn't know if there was any truth to it and she really didn't care anyway.

She looked away from them and began scanning the hall for a sign of Orihime or Uryu but there was no sign of any of them. She felt her stomach rumble slightly and it just occurred to her that she hadn't eaten anything in 6 hours. Just as she was about to get up to go get a plate of h'our doves, she was interrupted by a good looking blonde haired man.

"Excuse me miss?"

The man whose name she had already forgotten was a serious bore as all he wanted to talk about was his new car so she had made up an excuse and left the table without even waiting for him; she had gone out to the balcony to get some fresh air. Even though the hall was air-conditioned she had been feeling a little stuffy, or maybe it was because the guy was such a bore.

Stepping out into the cool night air, she was willing to admit to herself that she wasn't really having a good time. She was never the life of a party but she usually always found a way to enjoy herself but for some reason, she just wasn't feeling it tonight.

She placed her hands on the cold railing, feeling a little chill at the feeling on her skin; she stared down into the busy streets of Tokyo. The ballroom was on the 20th floor so she was quite high up.

Rukia liked heights… she had always liked heights for as long as she could remember. Whenever she was up high, looking down… everything that seemed muddled up or unclear always seemed to work itself out. That was why when she was looking for apartments, she made sure she was either at the top floor or close to the top floor and the place had a beautiful view.

The weather was just soothing; it wasn't too hot or too cold, just right. The gentle breeze blowing softly, kissing her smooth skin; she shut her eyes taking in the feeling. Even though she was feeling cheerful, she still had some things on her mind. First was the conversations he had had with her boss before she had left work to go dress shopping. The gallery was supposed to have received some new work from the mysterious artist Shirayuki but nothing had arrived yet and her boss really wanted to show off some of the work at their next show.

The second thing was she hadn't heard from her brother since yesterday when she had stormed out of his house after he had tried to set her up. As if their relationship wasn't already strained enough as it, last night didn't really help at all. For the past few months, things had been difficult between them. She knew she should call to apologize as it was rude of her but she just couldn't do it… not right now.

Her cell phone beeped bringing her out of her thoughts. She reached into her purse and read the message she had just received from her friend _Rangiku Matsumoto_; she chuckled at her friends message. Moments earlier she had sent a message to her friend asking her for some advice on something.

"Something funny?"

She immediately turned her head to see Ichigo walking over to her from the other side of the balcony; she must have missed him. "What are you doing out here…?" she asked before looking at him up and down.

He was dressed in an expensive black suit and trousers with a striped red tie and a white shirt. He was looking really sexy though. His orange hair was slightly shining in the moonlight.

"Same as you… getting some air" he answered shortly, tucking his hands into his trouser pockets as he leaned against the railing sideways facing her.

She briefly studied the look on his face; he looked a little down like he had a lot on his mind. She wondered what could be going through his mind. She knew she couldn't ask directly so she decided to go a different route. She leaned against the railing copying his stance.

"Seems like you're hiding from something"

He raised an eyebrow at her. "And what would I be hiding from?"

She noticed the defensive tone in his response and would have continued probing but decided against it. She shrugged her shoulders. "Dunno… maybe all the girls you've given fake names too" she muttered sarcastically.

A small grin played on his lips before he looked down at the floor. "Yeah… sorry about that" he mumbled sheepishly looking at her.

Rukia raised an eyebrow at him; she didn't really need apology from him. She wasn't happy that he had lied about his name but she understood why. As much as he tried to stay out of the papers, the press loved writing about him. Also, judging from the amount of women back in the hall who looked like they wanted to jump on him and fuck his brains out right there, maybe he just thought she might have been a crazy fan. The only reason why she didn't recognize him was she never read the papers or gossip blogs.

"Why are you apologizing? It was a one night stand… you didn't need to give me your real name… it's not like you knew we were going to see each other again…_ no hard feelings"_ she said before turned away from him to look back at the city. "But I do wonder how many times you've used Uryu's name to pick up girls though" she added cheekily.

She heard him chuckle lightly at her words then a moment of silence followed between them as they both stared down into the city. They spent the next couple of minutes making small talk.

…

"I met your sisters… their beautiful" Rukia said looking at him.

He smiled fondly. "Yeah they are"

_She couldn't help but think he had a nice smile._

…

Another moment of silence followed. She was waiting for him to say something but he didn't seem like he was going to. So she decided to break the silence again.

She turned to him. "You know… I've worked with Orihime for almost 2 years and she's never mentioned she knows you"

He gave her a sly grin. "Are you a fan?"

She felt her cheeks heat up before turning her head sharply away from him. "NO!" she denied. There was no way she was going to tell him she was a big fan. She had read through Memories 14 times since it had come out a year ago.

"Then why did you come?"

She looked back at him and sneered. "Free booze" she said haughtily causing him to grin at her.

Another moment of silence occurred before she spoke again. "Congratulations on the book… I heard it's going to be number 1 next week"

"Thanks… I'm glad it's finally over"

She looked at him. "Have you started work on your next book?"

"No…" she responded dryly. "And my publisher is already breathing down my neck"

"Then why don't you get started?" she prodded on.

He shrugged his shoulders he responded uninterestedly. "I've tried… but I don't have inspiration"

"Then why don't you get inspiration!" she said sourly.

Noticing her tone, he turned to her narrowing his eyes at her. "I can't just go to a store and buy inspiration!" he shot back.

She sneered at him before lightly whacking him on his shoulder. "Oh really… I did not know that" she said bitterly.

Ichigo chuckled lightly before raising an eyebrow as she had moved close, giving him a serious glare.

"What I mean is…" she began. "Find something or someone to be your new source of inspiration… something or someone special to you… Someone that makes you happy… someone you can depend on… someone that brings out the best in you… someone that understands you…" she finished softly.

Slightly taken aback by her actions, he found himself staring into her purple eyes. They were very odd and yet beautiful. His gaze moved away from her eyes to her pretty face, her small but cute nose and her beautifully shaped lips. Because they were so close, she smelt of sweet cherries.

Noticing he was staring, he took a step away from her before muttering. "That was a long speech"

She snapped out of her reverie and also took a step backwards before looking back at the city. "Well I was on the _debate team_ in high school"

He next moment of silence between them was awkward. She wanted to continue her conversation with him but she didn't know what to say. Luckily for her, he broke the silence this time. "Tell me about yourself Rukia Kuchiki"

She didn't answer him immediately as she was thinking about what to say. She never really knew how to answer that question. When she had gone for the job interview at the art gallery Orihime had been the one to interview her and she had asked her that same question and she didn't know what to say. But lucky for her, Orihime had said _"Don't worry… I also have problems with that question also"_. So they had just spent the rest of the interview talking about art and various things. Orihime had told her she had gotten the job right on the spot.

"There isn't much to tell… I work at the art gallery… I've always been interested in art…"

"What interests you about Art?"

Her interest in art was personal, very personal. She had never shared it with anyone and she wasn't going to share it with him. It had to do with something that had happened with her during her childhood.

She slowly turned to look at him, tilting her head sideways and giving him a half smile. "Sorry Mr Kurosaki... but that's… personal… and _you haven't earned my answer yet?_" she added as a slight tease.

He raised an eyebrow at her response. "I have to earn it?"

"Yep"

A small grin played on his lips as he took a step towards her. "How do I earn it?" he asked curiously.

Noticing his curiosity, an idea popped up in her head. She looked away from him before looking back at him, curling her lips in a seductive smile. She leaned on her tiptoes and whispered something in his ear.

Both of his eyebrows hunched up as she took a step away from him; the seductive smile still on her face.

"Let me say my goodbyes…" he simply said before walking to the glass door.

"Don't misunderstand me…" she spoke up as he opened the glass door leading to the hall. "We're not sleeping together tonight Mr Kurosaki"

A snide grin appeared on his face as he said. "Of course… _it's just drinks_… right?"

Kicking off her shoes as they stumbled into the bedroom their lips still glues together, she wrapped her arms tightly around his neck pulling him down, deepening the kiss. She slipped her tongue into his mouth

His hands tightened around her petite waist before he pushed her backwards till her back hit the dresser. He his hands moved to her butt and he easily lifted her up to sit on the dresser, hiking her dress up her thigh; she automatically wrapped her legs around his waist pulling him closer; she could feel his excitement in his pants. She rubbed her pelvis against his bulge causing him to groan softly.

His mouth moved to her neck, placing soft kissed down her neck, trailing kisses down her collar bone then onto her silky skin. He removed a strap from her dress and began placing kisses in between the valley of her breasts.

Her eyes opened immediately and she was determined to gain control again. She grabbed his face and pulled him up for another searing kiss before she unbuttoned his shirt, breaking the kiss slightly to admire his physique, she used a finger to trail his abs before she got off the dresser and gently pushing him onto the bed.

Hiking her dress up again, she straddled him and began trailing kisses across his chest while her hands began unbuckling his belt. She moved up on his body and captured his lips in a kiss, pushing her tongue into his mouth as her other hand slipped into his pants, under his boxers… grasping _him_ in her hand and began stroking him softly which made him even harder than he already was. He moaned softly into her mouth and she knew had accomplished what she came here to do.

She broke the kiss before slowly whispering into his ear. _"I guess I'll be seeing you around Mr Kurosaki" _

She removed let go of him and got up, moving away from the bed. Ichigo's eyes immediately opened before he sat up sharply, looking confused. "Wait! What?"

Rukia ignored him as she pulled up the strap off her dress then retrieved her shoes before sitting down by the window to put them on.

"I'm going home… I'll see you around" she simply said.

Ichigo immediately got up from the bed, his pants were unbuckled so they fell down to his knees in comedic fashion; his erect member showing, her eyes were fixed on it. She then giggled as he reached down and pulled his pants back up.

"You can't leave!" he said irritably as he buckled his belt back.

Rukia who had finished wearing her shoes got up and walked to him, staring him right in the eye; she said slowly. "I told you we're not sleeping together"

The look on Ichigo's face was a mixture of confusion and frustration, his jaw hanging open as he watched her turn around and walk seductively back into the living room. His brain was still processing what had just happened. Never in his entire life had this happened before. No girl had ever left him _hanging._

He slowly dragged his feet across on the carpet as he walked into the living room; he glared at her as she finished her glass of _Cristal_ that they had been drinking before she had begun kissing him.

She gently placed the glass down on the table before picking up her purse and looking at him; she smiled at him. "It was a pleasure meeting you Ichigo Kurosaki" she said before walking towards the door.

"So you just brought me up here… to get me started then stop…?" he asked in astonishment.

She stopped a few feet from the door and turned to face him; a smirk on her face "Well…. Yes"

Ichigo narrowed his eyes at her as he stared at her in confusion. "Why would you do something like that?" he asked bewildered.

The smirk disappeared on her face, replaced by the same menacing glare she had given to him back at the party; she walked over to him, looking up at him.

"Because you lied to me…" she said slowly.

Ichigo stared at her incredulously as she flashed him a dazzling smile before turning around and walking back to the door. "But you lied… you said no hard feelings… you said we should come up here for drinks" he stammered.

She looked at him over her shoulder at him "I didn't lie…. I told you outright that we weren't going to sleep together"

After the words had sunk in, a small grin appeared on his face. She was such a sly and evil woman. No girl had ever done this to him. No girl had been able to resist after seeing him naked.

A small grin appeared on his lips. "_You're such a fucking tease Rukia Kuchiki"_ he said slowly.

She turned around to face him, cocking herself sideways and grinning sweetly at him. "Next time… don't lie to me"

She winked at him before turning and opening the door. She threw him one more glance over her shoulder and said "I can't wait to read your new book Mr Kurosaki"

"I thought you weren't a fan…"

Her cheeks burned bright red as she blushed before exiting the room. She used all her willpower to walk down the hallway before turning a corner where she stopped and backed into the wall. It had taken every single fibre in her body not to go back and finish what she had started. She was feeling a little hot between her legs. She reached into her purse and grabbed her phone.

"_Thanks Rangiku… your plan worked : )"_


End file.
